Rapid and High-Quality Fabrication of Functional Materials Via Shape-Changing Nozzle 3D Printing

Additive manufacturing offers significant potential for producing on-demand functional materials at low cost and with reduced lead time. However, conventional nozzles with fixed shapes limit the full potential of extrusion-based 3D printing by compromising print time and quality, particularly for multiscale architectures with both thin and thick features. To address this, we introduce Adaptive Nozzle 3D Printing (AN3DP), a method that dynamically adjusts the nozzle exit’s shape during printing to optimize speed and quality. The AN3DP nozzle features eight tendon-driven, independently controllable pins surrounding a flexible, pressure-resistant membrane. Its design includes a tapered angle optimized for shear-thinning ink extrusion and a pointed tip for confined-space printing, such as conformal and embedded applications. The nozzle can also be modified by adding a core structure to produce hollow fibers with programmable deformation under fluid pressure. Demonstrations of AN3DP show that it can produce high-quality structures with smoother surfaces and fewer imperfections. Applications include the fabrication of graded lattices, topology-optimized structures, and vascular-like structures with continuous gradients and/or varying feature sizes. Additionally, we fabricated a customized multi-joint hand assistive device and a soft robot capable of navigating uneven terrain through the integration of a circular core structure in the AN3DP. We anticipate that AN3DP could be widely applied in bioprinting, wearable devices, and other fields, reducing costs for on-demand manufacturing processes and advancing mass customization capabilities.